When it comes to matters of policy, the public tends to look to the federal government to lead the way, but the local governments actually determine educational policy. Early in our nation's history, lawmakers passed the 10th Amendment to the Constitution which is the basis for making education a function of the states. Each school district is administered and financed by the community along with that district's state government. School districts with higher socioeconomic levels tend to give more resources to their schools. Standards and quality of education consequently vary widely from state to state, town to town, and even district to district. However, federal and state government can still play some role in education policy, as this article explains.
